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Inside Murtha's 'earmark factory'

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Sources assert Murtha has steered funds to PMA clients via a Penn State University research center.
AP Photo

However, internal EOC documents from recent years suggest that EOC officials were informed of which lobbying firms represented which of the corporate partners seeking funding.

For instance, an internal fiscal year 2003 document outlining requests for EOC projects being pushed by Murtha noted the name and contact information for each lobbyist seeking funding on behalf of a client. The document stated that Cunningham and another then-PMA lobbyist were seeking $27 million in funding for their clients, who included a Boeing subsidiary, a Texas company called DRS Infrared and a small California defense contractor.

In the end, Murtha was able to steer to those PMA clients — through the EOC — $9.5 million of the $27 million they sought.

Other internal EOC documents show a similar interest in which lobbying firms were representing which contractors — with special attention paid to PMA clients.

Sources inside and outside EOC say that Murtha used the center as a conduit for earmarks directed at Kuchera Industries, a Pennsylvania-based company that was raided by federal authorities earlier this year. In an April 28, 2006, e-mail to an EOC employee, Harris said he had “been told to help Bill Kuchera for nearly two years,” and that this direction “came directly from Mr. Murtha.”

Kuchera Industries received at least $1 million in federal funding through the EOC. Independently of the center, Murtha’s office announced in April 2007 that Kuchera Defense Systems was awarded a missile contract worth as much as $100 million. Federal Election Commission Records show that Kuchera and its employees have donated more than $65,000 to Murtha’s reelection campaign and leadership political action committee.

Murtha’s office defended the federal dollars given to the EOC as a worthwhile investment of taxpayer funds. Asked about the charge that he steered earmarks to PMA clients through EOC, Murtha’s office responded with a statement from Murtha spokesman Matthew Mazonkey, who said: “We are darn proud of Penn State’s Electro-Optics Center and the work they do to support our warfighter and to advance electro-optic technology.”

Mazonkey noted that the EOC will receive no earmarks from Murtha in the FY 2009 defense budget. Instead, the funding is block granted to the EOC through the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command research programs and competitively bid.

Penn State’s Liszka said he was unaware of any contacts between the Justice Department or the FBI and either the EOC or the university. Murtha’s critics — especially some Pennsylvania Republicans — have privately urged investigators to look into the EOC’s operations.

Most of the EOC’s research involves work on fiber optics, infrared sensor systems, lasers and advanced exotic materials related to military programs. The facility has received more than $230 million from the federal government over the past decade, including $100 million from the Office of Naval Research alone. An ONR spokesman said the Navy was pleased with the research by the center.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha said Thursday he has not been contacted by federal authorities concerning the investigation of a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm run by one of his former staffers. PMA Group was raided in November by the FBI. The Virginia firm was founded by former Murtha aide Paul Magliochetti. “PMA was one of the best lobbying firms in Washington,” said Murtha, D-Johnstown, who was in town for the Harry E. Mangle Boy Scout fundraising dinner.

. Murtha said the loss of PMA Group will make accessing government contracts more of a challenge for smaller companies. Several Johnstown-based companies have employed PMA’s services. “The smaller organizations do a great job and save the country a lot of money,” Murtha said. “That gets lost in the clutter.” In the 2007-08 election cycle, Murtha was one of 40 politicians to receive campaign contributions from PMA. Murtha received $26,700, the 13th-largest donation made by the firm.

. Some officerholders have said they would return the money. Murtha said if any wrongdoing is confirmed at the firm he would instead give the money to a charity. “This just makes things harder for my staff,” Murtha said. “Ours is a small staff for the amount of money we handle.”

Murtha is a thug and it does not suprise me that acadamia is involved in this sleaze. They have to get more, more, more, money so that they can continue to indoctrinate. The people who were complaining about the price gouging by the oil companies should check into the price gouging of the universites.

The basic question is why has this been allowed to go n. Froam Nancy Pelosi through the US congress the fraud and corruption continues. NRL is a bottomhole where money disappears and no one is accountable or responsible for anything. In fact the militarty industrial complex is one of the main reasons this nation is nearly bankrupt and the fraud and corruption never ends> It ios almost too late and in fact it may already be too late to save thuis nation from selfdestruction

At least 10 PMA lobbying clients have received funding via the EOC, officials at the center acknowledged. Sources familiar with the EOC’s operations said the total that went to PMA clients ran into the “tens of millions of dollars.”

Oh c'mon! It's only a democrat doing a democrat thingy, why all the fuss? Mutha' Murtha is only doing what he's been trained over the years to do...steal, rob, plunder and rape the taxpayer. Isn't it going to be hard enough for Madame Nasty to destroy the United States from her throne without have to shout over the roar of circling 'Rat wagons to boot? C'mon...it just isn't fair.

This leechery and abominable behavior has been known about Murtha since the Abscam days yet he remains in office. He destroyed many Marine's military careers with his abject lies and false assertions and found them guilty without benefit of trial, called his constiuents bitter red-necks and still was re-elected. This man is one of the worst money-sucking reps in US history...he kinda' makes ya' proud to be a democrat don't it guys, well it should...he is YOU!

Isn't President Obama going to clean up messes like this one? Didn't he make some promises during the campaign that he was going to change Washington??

It is time for President Obama to take some advice from folks who thought there would be 'change' in the right direction, and that HE WOULD follow through on what he promised that he would do! At present, terribly DISAPPOINTED! He may have to learn that DISAPPOINTMENT affects BOTH PARTIES!

Think he should take the following under advisement:

1) Select cabinet members who are not tax cheats! Such is a reflection on your own values.

2) Stop the new Attorney General from calling the nation 'cowards' and fueling divisiveness. Scolding after the fact is not convincing.

3) At least in the beginning, ADHERE to the promises made regarding doing away with EARMARKS and PORK BARREL spending; and keeping lobbyists out of key cabinet positions. REMEMBER -- YOU HAVE VETO POWERS!! Now that the FY 2009 Appropriations Bill ($410 Billion) has been approved, you can veto it if you do not want to fund over 8,500 earmarks! (NO MORE EXCUSES!)

4) Cease talking down business, and attempting to make successful enterprises the enemy! You will have to rely on them to pay the bills for your initiatives.

5) Refrain from speaking of the 'stock market' in a cavalier way since there are millions of Americans who had depended upon the 'market' for their retirement through planning their own futures (401k and IRAs). At age 70, one's options are limited, BUT WE STILL VOTE!

6) Do not use tax payer money to bail out individuals who were not disciplined enough to think through personal financial obligations before committing to same. THIS IS REWARDING RISKY BEHAVIOR -- AT OUR EXPENSE! (Many of us learned the hard way as well, and came out the better for it!)

7) Stop blaming the current situation on your predecessor when your own party has had both chambers of Congress for over two years -- WHICH YOU WERE A MEMBER -- and, Barney Franks and Chris Dodd were in charge of the Congressional Banking Committees. Additionally, you had friends in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae ( Mr. Raines and Mr. Johnson). This just causes folks who vote for you to question their own judgment as to whether or not they chose a guy NOT UP TO THE TASK!

8) The 'bipartisanship' touted during the campaign to be brought to Washington by the Obama Administration is not a 'one way street', or a night at the Whitehouse watching a movie or a game. It requires mutual trust, compromise, and demonstrated credibility .. with true bipartisanship. Beating up on Eric Cantor -- or the 'boogey person' of the day is not a recommended strategy. Suggest the process begin!

9) Refrain from using the Whitehouse to attempt to silence critics-- Jim Cramer, Rush Limbaugh, Rick Santelli and now Eric Cantor. It cheapens the office, and causes one to seriously question your priorities when we are in a serious economic crisis. Refer to item #8. Remember, this is not Chicago politics!

10) Deal more with substance rather than style, including weaning yourself from the teleprompter.

11) If in charge, TAKE CHARGE -- that includes engaging the Speaker of the House. SHE IS NOT THE CO-PRESIDENT!

12) Daily pronouncements/speeches (stem cell research and education as examples) without detail plans; impacts on citizens; specific objectives and outcomes -- NOT GENERALITIES; and the costs; are really a waste of time, and you will find that your bully pulpit will rapidly become an ordinary soap box -- made of cardboard. Please do the homework before calling a crowd and saying 'nothing'.

13) Bring on a chief of protocol who can keep the Whitehouse and State Department straight, where there will be fewer embarrassments -- such as we suffered (and still suffering) the week of March 2d. That was pretty sophomoric.

14) LISTEN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE -- NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO THINK THEY ARE SAYING, BUT, WHAT THEY ARE SAYING!! MAKE US WANT TO SUPPORT YOUR EFFORTS, NOT -- REGRET OUR VOTE OF NOVEMBER 4!!

You won't have to look any further than AMGEN. Take a look at opensecrets.org - July 17, 2007 was a very busy day for contributions for Pelosi - then take a look at www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/what did pelosi know about amg.html

MURTHA'S ISN'T A MAN HE IS A MAGGIT THAT CAN'T SAY HE WAS WRONG ON MEN THAT WERE FOUND INNOCENT . ................................................ NO WONDER A DIVISIONS IN THIS COUNTRY WILL ONLY GROW TO THE POINT THAT MANY WILL LOOK AT THE PEOPLE THAT VOTED THESE SO CALLED LEADERS IN OFFICE AS AMERCIAN HATERED................................ YOU GO DEMOCRATS MORE DIVISION WILL TAKE PLACE THE WAY YOU ARE LEADING US AND ONE OF THESE TALIBANS GET OUT OF GETMO AND BOMB OR KILL AMERICANS THE HATE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WILL GROW TO HIGHER LEVELS THAT IN PASS ADMINS.

This on the same day we find yet another Obama appointee on the take---the "urban" czar--and Nancy Pelosi's abuse of power in terms of military aircraft. Every day. Every day there is a bomb-shell that would have sunk any other President or Federal office holder who had an "R" after their name. Which outrage will be the final straw? I think the camel is starting to pay attention, and when it reacts, I don't think even the main stream media is going to be able to ignore it. Murtha? Either his constituents are as stupid as he, himself, maintains or the elections in that district are fixed. I'd say this is beyond belief but every single day since Chicago came to Washington, there has been something new and sleazy and the perpetrators' arrogance gets more and more out of control. The flashpoint is coming and all h*ll is going to break loose.

Maybe this piece of GARBAGE, just 'Cracked from the pressure'. This FILTH should be put out of OUR misery. That ANYBODY could be as CROOKED, and REPULSIVE, as this SCUMBAG, is unbelievable, and he should be made to go away.

Another Senile democrat. If we start at the "top" investigating, the entire cabinet including obama and the democratic Congress will be eliminated. Perhaps it's time to take them all to court to unload some or most of this crap concerning freddie frannie on the rightful shoulder....and we know their names.

Just another Good Ole Boy Politician using a good laboratory to steer money to his buddies. Because of its classified work the EOC knows who is who and where they are from. Ask the office of Naval Research and review the security cameras and compare against known PMA employees. This should be good enough to start a formal investigation.

I really thought that after being publicly insulted by this waste of semen, the people of Western PA., would finally vote him out of office last year. But surprise, surprise, the "people" of Western PA., are proving to be the most ignorant, self flagellating lump of wretched refuse that ever polluted our teeming shores.

It has also kept us from invasion for almost 200 years. But you are correct whenit comes to government contracts the process is so long and frustrating that only the big companies get the contracts. The smaller subcontractors are hired for chump change. Couple this with the fact the a certain amount of any contract has to be given to a minority/female owned business and you have inefficiency written all over almost every contract.

Neverthe less the US military has successfully defended this nation since it was founded.